artsmuklermd

Author: artsmuklermd

Art Smukler, MD was born and raised in Philadelphia, went to college and medical school in Pennsylvania, and completed his psychiatric training at UCLA. He is a board-certified psychiatrist, specializing in the treatment of adults with a subspecialty in adolescents. As a member of the UCLA faculty, he ran an award-winning psychotherapy conference for psychiatric residents and received the coveted “Golden Ear” award. He has published in psychiatric journals, and won the award for excellence in creative writing at The Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Now a full-time author, he applies his deep understanding of the human psyche to the motivations of his fictional characters.

For quite a while, I’ve done the impossible – kept my mouth shut and my computer off with things pertaining to Donald Trump. But no more. I can’t tolerate his lies and the way that so many Republicans support and chuckle that what he’s doing is okay.

Everyday there is a new lie.

Everyday another person is attacked or fired for disagreeing with him.

Everyday he performs another outlandish action that hurts our country.

No mask. Get close. The virus is a Democratic disease blah, blah.

It’s sickening. I personally know a number of people who STILL support this manipulating sadist. I will not invite these people into my home. I can’t respect anyone who supports his brand of absolute utter disdain for the rules of law and accepts his abuse of power. If you support him, you condone name-calling, bullying, lying and on and on.

Will they care? Of course not. But I care!

If we don’t speak out against Trump – shame on us! His behavior and the behavior of his followers has created chaos and death.

Can you believe that he refused to allow a ship with COVID passengers to debark on our shores because IT WOULD MAKE THE NUMBERS HIGHER AND HE WOULDN’T LOOK GOOD. You can’t make this stuff up! He said it!

Even if you don’t agree with all the politics of Democrats, in all conscience please DO NOT SUPPORT Trump or his sycophants.

In the world of psychiatry not everything can be chalked up to underlying conflicts and the need to uncover unconscious motives. Spending even one second trying to reason with a psychopath is useless. I already know why Trump does what he does. Power! Greed! THE INABILITY TO EVER THINK OF SOMEONE BUT HIMSELF.

Whatever Trump says is a lie. That’s my new general rule and advice on how to deal with him. Even if his actual words are accurate, ALWAYS suspect his motivation.

If you enjoyed reading, Inside the Mind of a Psychiatrist, you might also enjoy Dr. Smukler’s novels, Chasing Backwards, a psychological murder mystery, Skin Dance, a mystery, and The Man with a Microphone in his Ear. All are available as paperbacks and eBooks.

Do you remember the kid’s game, Would You Rather? Would you rather have pins in your eyes or your ears? Would you rather eat only hotdogs or only ice cream for a week? And on and on…

What came to mind is the true story of Jack, a grade school friend, who was charged with Medicare fraud. Jack was a GP and sentenced to six months in a federal prison. The prison happened to be located on the same air force base in Florida, where I was stationed as a major (a psychiatrist) during the Viet Nam era. One “interesting” experience was the time that the base rabbi “invited” the medical staff to join him and his family as they hosted a bagels and lox brunch at the prison. The rabbi was a colonel and his “invitation” was actually a direct order. That morning dozens of doctors and prisoners shared the buffet and surprisingly, it was a pleasant experience.

Jack was incarcerated a few years after I completed my tour of duty, but the same rabbi was still hosting his monthly brunch. I assumed that Jack took full advantage of this prison perk.
A few years later, a good friend told me that after Jack got out of prison he decided to get divorced, give up his medical practice, and start a new life. Jack said, “Those six months were the best six months of my life. I never realized how miserable I was until I was sent to prison. It took prison to help me understand what I really wanted in life.” The last I heard, Jack had moved halfway across the country and was living “happily ever after”.

Our lives are finite and if we don’t make the most of them we waste an irreplaceable commodity. As most cancer survivors have learned, every moment we are alive and comfortable is a treasure.

What we show the world is often just the tip of the iceberg. Our true selves are often hidden below the surface, undiscoverable to the world and often to ourselves. Not only do we have the chance in Plato (*) to learn about subjects that interest us, we have more disposable time and this gives us more time to learn and think about who we really are and what we really want.

How many people give themselves the opportunity to listen to their own thoughts, and explore their own feelings? Do you need to have the radio on when you’re driving? How often do you just drive in silence or just sit in silence, letting your thoughts fill the void? Do you think about your dreams and take a shot at analyzing them? Do you ask friends and spouses what they observe about you and then do you take what they say and actually think about it?

Luckily, we have a chance to think about ourselves without having to get divorced or have a bagel brunch with the rabbi. Would you rather be in prison or be divorced? I choose neither. I choose to live each day with the opportunity to try and understand what’s really important to me. I recommend that for all of us.

*Plato is an independent group associated with UCLA that is dedicated to lifelong learning. It attracts all ages and many professors, physicians, lawyers, teachers, engineers, and anyone who loves the thrill of learning new things.